Child.of.God.1989

Do you think it is our duty as "deep readers" to be patient with annoying characters in general, or that it is the author's responsibility to put in some checks and balances to their words and actions so they don't drive us crazy? I'm not talking about villains you love to hate, since a lot of great stories ride on those characters and it's obvious we should tolerate them. I think as long as the author makes the lesson clear from that character's shortcomings, those annoying characters can actually be enjoyable to read about. You can shake your head and chuckle at their stupidity, and hope they change later in the story. So who should change more, us or the author (also "us," in some cases:))?

Cool thought. In the interest of helping you toward a decision, I have wanted to contribute my favorite books some classify as "spiritual," and I have wanted to hear others' opinions of them. And of course, there are some authors who write both "spiritual" books and then other genres, like C.S. Lewis writing widely-accepted fiction stories, and Randy Alcorn the same way. I've just avoided discussing those books and authors for fear of stepping on toes in an otherwise friendly environment. Back to the topic started, thanks for the recommendation, KB. I have heard mixed sayings as to whether Ms. Meyer stays close to the Bible or not in her teachings, but this book sounds like it would be easier to discern right and wrong than her more popular The Battlefield of the Mind. Your suggestion of this simple book will be so helpful for many of us to get back on track to talking with God!

Oh, poor Michelle! I can't imagine what I would do instead of reading or playing on my Nintendo DS, besides try to get my head comfortable for a cat nap. I always anticipate long trips excitedly since that's my time to get some serious uninterrupted reading done - but instead of choosing meatier books like I should, I usually go for page-turners:). At Bible school, my desk can be comfortable if I have a big pillow behind me and my music on. It sounds like some people here like reading on their beds while they're at school, but mine's a bunk bed with six other girls whom I always retire much later after. We have a nice ladies' lounge and co-ed lounge, both with nice cushy couches and tables, and sunlight-welcoming windowpanes, but the co-ed lounge can be pretty noisy. At home when I was eleven or twelve, books like Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, and the Babysitter's Club series made it a wonderful game for me to find the sunniest spot in the house; would it be our living room, where I would lie on the couch instead of sitting with my feet off of it like I was supposed to? Or would it be on my comfy bed?

The writer: I wish I could meet this physician/husband/possessor of a great vocabulary. I am guessing he must be a very warm and engaging person to speak with. Thank goodness he had people around him to help him share what life was like from the 1970s to the near-present in Afghanistan. I may know a little more than the average nineteen-year-old about what has happened and is happening in the rest of the world, but this man's simple presentation of Kabul, the city with potential, let me know I still should think a lot more about the world outside of my own little circle. The story (more important to me): I checked out A Thousand Splendid Suns in December. I spent much of my break sitting with my mom since she had major surgery on the 21st, and I wanted to use the time without homework to catch up on reading for pleasure. Thankfully my dad consented to drop me off at the local library. I am thankful for this forum, since I probably wouldn't have heard enough about this book to spot it and check it out myself without you guys. Anyway, I had such a hard time tearing myself away from Suns! Usually I don't show too much outward emotion when I read; but my mom kept having to ask me what was wrong, as I would verbally grunt in frustration at how unfair the characters had it, or audibly gasp at the horror of what took place in their country and family. That doesn't mean you're going to feel miserable reading it - it's how compelling a story it is! I think the plight of the two women and the few good people around them will bring forth compassion from the surliest person.

Okay, so far for books that give you a humorous outlook on everyday life, I have the following ideas from all of us: Sein Language by Jerry Seinfeld - comedy bits on select topics such as dating, personal maintenance, and the busyness of life from his 1990s act and sitcom. I will have to ask my dad why he bought this years ago (good thing he did, as it's probably twice the price now!); I can't picture that wonderful man of few words being really interested in something like that and laughing out loud upon reading it. New Rules by Bill Maher Only Joking by Jimmy Carr Love All the People by Bill Hicks Fatherhood by Bill Cosby - at first I was going to suggest I Am What I Ate... and I'm Frightened! after seeing it in the New Release section a few years ago, and only recently watching Youtube clips from his hi-LAR-ious Himself tour. Apparently, though, that one is actually a very serious look at what it's like being closer to the end of your life. Anyway, I think from what he's had to say about his parents, and all the material on his sitcom of how ridiculous we can be with each other, this book would be enjoyable to anyone who is a member of a family. Of course, that's everyone! Words from the Wise: Over 6,000 of the Smartest Things Ever Said collected by Rosemarie Jarski - I found this one looking up one of my favorite comedians, Demetri Martin. In this quotation book he is recorded saying something like, "It'd be cool to have a video game where you cured all the people who get shot in other video games. You'd have to call it... 'Really Busy Hospital.'":) The Big Curmedgeon collected by Jon Winokur - I probably wouldn't be super-excited to sink my teeth in this book of bitter, pessimistic perspective, but it does quote sarcastic, brazen comedian Jim Gaffigan twice. Yes! Hmm... do you think these quotation books are really books you would maybe take on a long trip and read cover-to-cover? If I were going to do that, I would use a quotation book of all topics, and not just humor. Any other suggestions? Typically the humor books under this classification are a shade under 200 pages, just a linear grouping of different sayings of what they've noticed about life. I would appreciate any you have found from Christian authors or geniuses before the twentieth century. I know there must be some Christian ones out there after peeking at some books on parenting my mom had years ago, and hearing comedians like Chonda Pierce and Mark Lowry. (I didn't mention Lowry's written adaptation of his stand-up stuff since he's so over-the-top, bless his huge heart.) As for humor books that are a more genteel, classic age and flavor, I can't really think of anything besides Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's "Almanack", or something to that effect. Most of the Russian, American, and British authors around the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries seemed to display their wit more subtly and indirectly. Even if you see something that's more like a quotation of a great deal of different people, please share!

Books I checked out from the library today: Emma volumes 1 and 2 ~ Kaoru Mori the first one is SO sweet and beautifully drawn so far! Queen of Babble: In the Big City ~ Meg Cabot The Old Man and the Sea ~ Ernest Hemingway Mort ~ Terry Pratchett Mansfield Park ~ Jane Austen The Kite Runner ~ Khaled Hosseini The Man Who Was Thursday ~ Gilbert Keith Chesterton

To answer the discussion question: Well, no. But I do love the name, how it reminds me of Seinfeld. "No soup for you!" I think I would be a book Nazi if it weren't for my honesty with my clumsiness. If I were passive-agressive against someone maybe making a dog-ear, I would later kick myself for being a hypocrite. It's because I always bolt upright in my chair or bed in surprise at getting a food stain or a squished bug or something on yet another book! I really try to take care of them, though, since most of them are from the library! Doodles in textbooks set me off somewhat, and if the book is older I certainly would verbally address someone paying it disrespect. I have to honor my campus ministry at school as the library assistant, you know! ...Even if I have put in a library stamp upside down in an old commentary! Yikes. So, I'll just take your guys' recommendations rather than physical copies. For all our sakes.

Thank you for the title-change and for the encouragement, Janet! You're a great example of how welcoming and amiable everyone is here. Well, I just accomplished a good chunk of homework, so I'll show what my reading list looks like. I'm going to read for fun once a week, every Saturday afternoon. First I will finish Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, which is going pretty smoothly. It's a nice filler book for while I was on the plane on Saturday. My older sister also lent me New Moon, so either I'll start that next or pick up on the second part of Anna Karenina. Ha, both my for-fun books are for camaraderie with close family members! Anna Karenina is a recommendation from my brilliant younger cousin. She's studying journalism currently. I don't think any of the textbooks I have for school this semester are very famous, so I'll just mention them if there's a really great piece of wisdom in there or something. However, we are studying II Corinthians, Romans, and I Peter in-depth right now. I can't wait to have the small elective class where I get to learn about early Christians; I don't know much of what it was like during and after Nero, and Gnosticism and all that. I love to read while I eat, and since there aren't too many people in the dining hall at breakfast, I will read a devotional sort of book each morning. I think I'll pick Sister Freaks by Rebecca St. James or have a peek in the school library tonight, maybe for something by C.S. Lewis.

Yes, I just finished Suns on Friday night when I was supposed to be packing for school! Thanks for asking, Janet. It was impossible to get through some parts without letting an indignant grunt at how much Mariam and Laila have to endure! That was what was so good about it, how Mr. Hosseini conveyed the bitter loss in Afghanistan, and the grimly monotonous way of life after you picked yourself up from those losses. It was so personal and emotionally sweeping without being sappy or melodramatic. One reads it just knowing it has to get better at some point, and just absorbing the culture so different on the surface from America's. But hey, as one of my teachers says, we're all made of the same cookie dough. It isn't just a certain ethnicity or religion that makes one able to commit certain inhumane acts. Everyone's capable of it. Mm, I might just ask Michelle about changing my thread's name to 2008-2009 since I didn't post much for 2008. Thanks for reminding me to check on what everyone's new-year reading goals are. I'm sitting at my desk, all settled in for a new semester of Bible school. My schedule seems pretty loaded even if there wasn't a lot of homework, so I may select just one day of the week I browse the forum. I dunno, maybe I won't be able to keep away and it will be my unwinding vehicle!

Well, K1ns, I just finished Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot. The main character is just so out-spoken and lovable, but not in a cutesy way, praise the Lord. I really appreciate Ms. Cabot's extra touches in her book, writing a convincing college thesis on "The History of Fashion" in between every chapter. If only one had her sources of pundit quotations at the beginning of every chapter, too. A few parts of ending were a tad predictable, but in the good way, where you're hoping the main characters will be brave enough to carry out a certain climactic solution. Is there a sequel to this book? Ugh, I can't believe I finished this book with some explicit content... she's the first and hopefully the only secular contemporary romance author I'll read from. You know it was good since I'm not saying the only book. Hee!

Wow. This thread is such a great example that men and women balance out each other's sentimentality, or lack thereof! "Oh, I love escaping and learning and picturing those lovely characters..." "To learn/it's cheaper than alchohol" (Ernie and Eddie) Stereotyping aside, my love for reading has been big, if not consistent and steady, all the way from kindergarten. All that's good in me seems to come from my Christian elementary-through-high school. There I was told how to read quite early, and with small class sizes there was plenty of time for the teachers and sweet librarian to show me the next favorite in whatever new series I discovered. (Yet another shout-out to Nancy Drew, Babysitter's Club, and in this case also Miss Pickerell!) My mom and grandma kept up the enthusiasm with recommendations of their own, which I trusted beyond anything. It's so wonderful to have people with your relationship with God on their minds, people to help you grow in Him. I guess my reason to read is pretty social, then. It's what I do in my alone-time, but I know it wouldn't be good for me to enjoy solitude all the time. That sociability keeps the BCF going! P.S. For any authors reading this, a big draw for me (and I'm sure many other readers) is learning from and gushingly admiring the characters. Maybe that admiration is to a fault.

A late but well-deserved "thank you" for your interest and well-wishing, Landevale! Your kind words were good motivation to get through the cumbersome introduction to Quo Vadis. I just know Lygia's going to be a shining character... ...But I let myself become distracted once again! Whoops. I checked out Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot, The Complete Jane Austen Novels, and A Thousand Splended Suns by Khaled Hosseini. My mom is recovering from surgery, so I decided to pick up some books for myself along with movies for us to watch together. Of course Queen of Babble's fast-paced style won out my tiny attention span for what to finish first.

I have only read Jane Eyre by Charlotte. That one I've read twice, though, when I was thirteen for a book report and then again a couple of years later for fun. As Mary Riso points out in her book Heroines, the character of Jane is just so wonderful to watch: she's humble but unflinching in her morals, and inwardly so passionate though she stays quiet until you provoke her. I like having such a realistic example of finally becoming able to forgive and ask forgiveness, no matter how proud you were before. Anyway, I've been told by my cousin and Echo that Wuthering Heights is probably the next best one, so I'll go for that next. Later I will do a bit of research on the Bronte sisters' background, who was the oldest, et cetera, which I'm sure will help us understand their books even better. How do you guys see them as unique from each other? What do they have in common?

Oh, sorry you didn't enjoy it, Megan! The ending is very sweet. I need to read it again - or skim through to my favorite scenes - so I can see how to follow Ellinor's example. (Oh, dash it, that is the name of the older sister, right?) Perhaps someday the story can be recaptured in modern movie form as Pride and Prejudice was.

You poor holiday traveler, Landevale! You probably already know it, but I swear we hardly get more than four inches of snow altogether, at least not west of the Cascades. I hope you have a good variety of stories at your disposal. So far Quo Vadis is going swimmingly. I thought I was going to have a short attention span and have to scrounge around for a more modern read, but this romantic story of ancient Rome relates so much to what I learned in my I Corinthians class. Have a safe trip home, whenever the airlines open up again!

Oh, but wasn't Mr. Collins hilarious in this version? I burst out laughing when he first spoke; his voice was spot-on grave and monotonous, even as he tried to romance his cousins. Ms. Austen, I think, would chuckle at that.

*strokes chin* We-ell, I can't think of any movie adaptation that did the book no justice at all. When my grandma and I watched the 1970 version of Jane Eyre this summer, we agreed that George C. Scott was too... young and normal-looking for Mr. Rochester. My grandma said the older one was much better, I think from the 1930s; but we weren't disappointed that we watched that one together or anything. I have heard from some people that some movies from books were way overrated, like Eyes Wide Shut from my sister and The daVinci Code from my cousins and some movie critics. In considering my answer to this funny question, I thought, "Yeesh, what movies have I even seen that were first books?" Here is a web site that lists all the movies based on books, with the book's title and author. I can't wait to look through it! It will be fun to see if there were any dramatizations of my favorite stories I didn't know about.

Wow, one book a week is quite the ambitious goal. You're going to learn so much! If I were to do something like that, I would certainly appreciate this forum or a journal to jot down a summary of what I want to retain from the books. You can bet your boots I would run even the most distinguished ones together. Anyway, do enjoy, radjack - luckily your style of books are deep but easy to eat up!

Upon my arrival home from Bible school, my area of the northwest has been beset with snow. Since my books on hold at the library are probably going to be put back before I can get there... three miles away!... I will just work on Quo Vadis and The Pilgrim's Progress. Aww, I really wanted to read The BFG by Roald Dahl with my young nephew! Well, c'est la vie. Ooh, I just read in the local paper that a sequel was written and approved by France for Les Miserables. I love love love that story, so I will have to look up what happenes to Cosette and Jean Valjean afterwards.

Most younger people's books I read in building a relationship with a younger person like my nephew or a junior high girl in my church's youth group. No one has to tell me, though, to pick up a children's classic like George Macdonald's Sir Gibbie or C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia! Those older books are usually stimulating and adventurous without all the kinds of tension adult books have, like romance or betrayal. (Not that young adults can't handle reading about those situations.) Maybe I could see, though, where that high-brow senior is coming from. S/he may have seen too many people go for fast-paced, easy little reads rather than something that would change their life and make them think. That person shouldn't think they know what everyone else needs to spend their time in :-P , but maybe we can help others ease into really deep, rich things as well as fluffy favorites.

Has anyone ever cried reading about something that really happened in history? Humans can be pretty remarkable. Wouldn't it be good for people today, particularly younger people, to hear about those who knew about something bigger than themselves... or some great act of kindness committed by a normal person? I have this book Jesus Freaks Volume II by the band dcTalk, a compendium of stories of people who have been hurt or killed because they are Christians who refuse anything else. When I go home for holiday, I will add the quotation they had in there from Ignatius, right before he was buried alive for his singular faith. I may have cried in The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, about the Holocaust. I need to finish that one.

Okay, so the last post consisted of books I would like to read some day. Here are the ones I'm working through now: - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen I'm on the last 80 pages or so, and - The Peacemaker by Ken Sande for school 297 pages, "a biblical guide to resolving personal conflicts" - really challenging and heartwarming at times! - The Acts of the Apostles by Charles C. Ryrie for school 127 pages, short commentary with lots of background on the Bible book - Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury 331 pages, contemporary fiction - I Corinthians by the apostle Paul for school - Acts by the apostle/physician Luke for school The only one I've finished recently was The Shack by William Young. The first half was very touching, and a particular scene near the end. However, Mr. Young's understanding of God's person and work has some subtle issues that raise red flags. All in all, though, he is a skilled writer:D, and does say some things about God and suffering that people tend to forget. You should certainly take a few days to read it if you're pretty grounded in what you believe.

Balancing school, work, "procrastinatory" habits:motz:, and youth group has made life so busy! Christmas break will be wonderful to read more books, more thoroughly. Here are some I'm going to look for or pull off my shelf. I will probably edit this after browsing our posts for recommendations, particulary the ones I said I would take. - Dispensationalism - Charles C. Ryrie 248 pgs., non-fiction - Running the Race by R.C. Sproul 96 pgs., non-fiction addressed to graduates (yikes, that was June 2007 I received this small book!) - Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 817 pgs., Russian classic novel%

Ouch, this guy is sharp! (I saw a little sneak-peek on Amazon.com) I love when a person has that choleric my-intuition-is-perfect sense of humor, because you can groan when he's wrong about something he's so sure of, and find an ally when he observes the same thing you have. I think he recently did a documentary that I really disagree with, but I would certainly borrow this book from a friend or the library. Thanks, Ruth.